Page 36 of Kiss of Fire

“How can you be so foul-tempered when you breathethisin all day?”

“I have exacting standards. People disappoint me.”

“Yeah, well, if I lived here I’d be like Mother Theresa.”

“She is a saint?”

“According to some people. Wow, is it dawn already?”

A sliver of sun was peeking over the horizon. A chorus of birdsong started up as the sky began to lighten.

Raya glanced behind her towards the Gate. It was still night on the other side. Time obviously worked differently here.

“This is my favourite time of day,” said Shade. And though she could never imagine him looking outright cheerful, his face did seem more relaxed. She smiled at him shyly.

“Nush’aldaam seems very beautiful,” she offered. He gazed at her for a long moment and the butterflies in her stomach started their jig again.

“May I show you my land from the air?”

“Um…”

Being in his arms didn’t feel like a smart move to Raya. She took an involuntary step backwards, cursing herself as his expression hardened.

“You have no need to worry. I will not touch you any more than is strictly necessary.”

He let his shadows form around them and dark tendrils snaked round her waist. They held her snugly but didn’t squeeze. When he beat his wings and lifted from the ground, she rose too, separated from him by several feet of thin air.

“Woah!” She clutched the dusky band around her, not feeling secure in the least.

“Be calm. I will not let you fall.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Suddenly, she regretted not being in his arms. It seemed way safer than being held by mere smoke.

“Look down, halfling.”

She did so, and gasped. Shade had flown them so high, Nush’aldaam was laid out below them like a map. Light crept across the landscape, chasing the dark away as dawn fully broke.

“If you look to the west, do you see the faint glow?” Shade pointed. “That is the reflection from the Gilded Palace in the heart of Nush’aldaam. It is empty now. But for a thousand years it was inhabited by Emperor Mazhab, the Golden One. His territory was large and he delegated rule over key parts of it to trusted lieutenants. My father was one of them. He settled the land to the south. It is called Nurhan, green and fertile, full of valleys and meadows.”

Raya shaded her eyes, following the line of green all the way to the horizon.

“It’s beautiful. Is that the sea over there?”

“The Ocean of Whispers. The coastal territory belongs to my rival Salaq. He is Lord of the Marid, as was his father before him. He is very powerful. But control of the coast isn’t enough for him. When Mazhab died, he made it clear he wanted the throne for himself. He wants all of Nush’aldaam.”

“How come there’s no proper heir?”

“There was. Kamran, the son of Mazhab. We were friends, we practically grew up together. But he died.”

Shade stopped. His face held no expression but in the light of dawn, Raya could sense his sadness. She tried to distract him.

“So you hold the south. Salaq has the coast. Where does Aelfric hang out?”

Shade pointed.

“He controls Feyir in the east of the empire.”

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